Matthew J. Blit (born March 9, 1975) is an American employment discrimination attorney best known for representing clients in high-profile matters involving celebrities and other notable parties. Blit also represented David Kuchinsky in his suit against

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

center

Eddy Curry Eddy Anthony Curry Jr. (born December 5, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Coming directly out of Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois, Curry was selected fourth overall in the 2001 NBA draft by the Chicag ...

; Ian Bernardo against ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''; model Ashley Chontos in her sexual harassment suit against her former employer; and former actress and ''

Binibining Pilipinas Binibining Pilipinas (abbreviated as Bb. Pilipinas or BBP; ) is the oldest active national beauty pageant in the Philippines. Founded in 1964, it currently selects Filipina representatives to compete in one of the Big Four international beau ...

'' contestant Joanna "Dindi" Gallardo-Mills in her workplace-abuse suit against the companion of comic-book artist

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book artist, comic book writer, and screenwriter known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'', for which he created the character Elektra, and ...

. In addition, Blit has represented a number of exotic dancers in sexual harassment and wage and hour claims against gentleman's clubs.

Early life

Matthew J. Blit was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, was the elder of two sons, and grew up in the neighborhood of

Mill Basin Mill Basin is a residential neighborhood in southeastern Brooklyn, New York City. It is on a peninsula abutting Jamaica Bay and is bordered by Avenue U on the northwest and the Mill Basin/Mill Island Inlet on its remaining sides. Mill Basin i ...

, where he attended South Shore High School. His father is a Cuban-American and his mother is of English and Romanian descent. Blit received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint John's University in 1997. In 2000, Blit graduated from

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Mast ...

, earning the degree of

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

Legal career

Blit accepted an associate attorney position with Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker following his graduation from law school. He worked at the insurance defense giant until 2003, when he left to join the firm of David Scheinfeld & Associates. While there, Blit met his future partner, Leslie J. Levine. In 2004, the two left Scheinfeld & Associates to form Levine & Blit, PLLC. Blit's practice focuses on employment litigation and personal injury claims. In addition to the above-listed matters, some of his noteworthy cases include a $4.5M jury verdict against the City of New York in a case involving the assault of a student and a $4.265M settlement for a child who fell out of a fifth-story window.

Eddy Curry lawsuit

On January 12, 2009, Blit filed suit in the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of the State of New York. Two of these are in New York Ci ...

against

on behalf of David Kuchinsky, Curry's former chauffeur. In the complaint, Kuchinsky alleges "the basketball star made sexual advances at him, forced him to perform demeaning tasks and twice pointed a gun at him." The suit sought $68,000 in unpaid wages and $25,000 in expenses for which Kuchinsky was not reimbursed.

References

External links

Levine & Blit, PLLC

Coggno Inc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blit, Matthew J. 1975 births Living people American lawyers American people of Cuban descent American people of English descent American people of Romanian descent People from Mill Basin, Brooklyn